I'm not a souls-like player at all, so not really the target demographic for this, but that's not really one of my main concerns so far. My main issue is there just isn't that same dopamine hit compared to POE1, aside from killing bosses which is rightfully deserved. Progression feels lackluster and it's hard to get excited about leveling up when the skill tree, despite being bigger, is full of so much garbage it feels like no real progress is being made. Same with the loot, I got some pretty decent stuff at the beginning but now in Act 2, maybe I'll get a ♥♥♥♥♥♥ magical item that doesn't even work with my class well at best per map. Crafting orbs are practically nonexistent, at least the ones that upgrade rarity, still have a million Augmentation orbs with nothing worth using them on. Why the ♥♥♥♥ am I kiting white mobs for 45 mins per map, and the crowding also gets pretty bad in certain areas but good use of dodge can mitigate that. Gems system, while made a lot easier to understand, doesn't have the same depth and the fun of throwing random ♥♥♥♥ together and winging it isn't there anymore.

Overall not a bad game, but coming from POE1 and not Souls-likes or any other ARPG, it's just not my cup of tea and while I'm sure I'll keep playing for a while to up until I can't stand it anymore, it feels like that's going to be sooner rather than later with how unrewarding the current systems are.

I'm not a souls-like player at all, so not really the target demographic for this, but that's not really one of my main concerns so far. My main issue is there just isn't that same dopamine hit compared to POE1, aside from killing bosses which is rightfully deserved. Progression feels lackluster and it's hard to get excited about leveling up when the skill tree, despite being bigger, is full of so much garbage it feels like no real progress is being made. Same with the loot, I got some pretty decent stuff at the beginning but now in Act 2, maybe I'll get a shitty magical item that doesn't even work with my class well at best per map. Crafting orbs are practically nonexistent, at least the ones that upgrade rarity, still have a million Augmentation orbs with nothing worth using them on. Why the fuck am I kiting white mobs for 45 mins per map, and the crowding also gets pretty bad in certain areas but good use of dodge can mitigate that. Gems system, while made a lot easier to understand, doesn't have the same depth and the fun of throwing random shit together and winging it isn't there anymore. Overall not a bad game, but coming from POE1 and not Souls-likes or any other ARPG, it's just not my cup of tea and while I'm sure I'll keep playing for a while to up until I can't stand it anymore, it feels like that's going to be sooner rather than later with how unrewarding the current systems are.